Puppy Linux is such a fantastic OS, espcially for aging laptops. One weak feature of this OS is its wireless connectivity. To connect to a wireless network on puppy, you would have to press 1)scan for wireless network, 2)select your network and figure out which security method it uses, 3)save the profile, and finally you will be able to access that wireless point automatically. Too many steps! On the contrary, ubuntu or windows xp automatically scans for available wireless point, you simply select which point to connect to, enter password, ad voala, you are online! It is easy, automatic, and intuitive.

I would like to start this post to list any puplets that have easy automatic wireless connections similar to Ubunutu or Windows XP.

So far, the best one I have stumbled upon is Stardust, which is very newbie friendly with a nice control interface. The OS guides you, with simple steps, on how to setup a wireless network and tells you how to connect to it.

I would like to revisit this old thread in that I am on vacation in a motel in a new (to me) city. I was hoping to utilize my trusty frugal 5.2 to get snappy internet service but to no avail. After finally figuring out how to log in thru the password protected service here (requiring many steps as MTrue001 mentions) the connection I get is fluky, dropping after a few minutes. Repeated attempts are the same - not usable. I then resort to XP and in a few short steps I am up and running (of course I then have to wait minutes while everything updates). This has happened to me in other situations where I need to connect to a new network.

Since this is an old thread and there are a variety of new Puppies out there is there any additional advice beyond what Jemimah says re: better wi-fi connectivity?

I think I would consider internet connection ease and reliability as the major criterion in picking a specific Puppy.

Nothing is automatic. It's a political concession. If we allowed them to build computers which operated automatically, we, the 99%ers, would be superfluous, out of work, starving and rioting in the streets. But things can be easy.

Jemimah is too modest.

She failed to mention that she developed Frisbee. Frisbee is my first choice for connecting to wireless.
You should be able to locate a pet named Frisbee-beta-2-Lucid52.pet. Despite the beta and Lucid adjectives in its name, it almost never fails to find, connect to, and stay connected to wireless transmissions in Slacko, Exprimo, as well as Lupu/Lucids. Or I used that pet before pemasu and 01micko made versions available in Exprimo and Slacko respectively. Jemimah included a version in Saluki. I'm in Lupu right now. But I think only 01micko included an option in the First Run dialog to install it from the ISO. Pemasu may have just provided a menu entry under Internet or Networking which you can use instead of continuing with the First Run dialog. Or vice-versa, or neither and you have to exit First Run and/or install it manually.
Peebee recently developed a version for Precise.
Two things about Frisbee: If you've previously used either the Network Wizard or Simple Network Setup in trying to connect to the internet, and saved a wireless setting, you may have to run the Network Wizard and delete that setting before running Frisbee. Otherwise you end up with two applications running in conflict with each other, neither working.
The second thing is that, unlike the Wizard and SNS, after Frisbee has successfully connected to the internet the first time it does not automatically initiate the application to setup a firewall. You have to remember to do that manually.

If you haven't used Frisbee before then, again from memory, once it is started (it starts automatically on installation) a taskbar icon will appear. Right-click the icon and select "set up networking." In the window which appears, make certain Enable Wireless Networking is checked. You may have to click the Refresh button. Frisbee will scan and report available networks, indicating the type of encryption used, if any. Click the network listing you want to connect to --which will highlight it-- then click "Create Profile for Selected Network." In the dialog window which opens [optional: (un)check the radio button which hides what your typing so you can see what you're doing, and] type in the encryption code, if any. ? Click OK? It defaults to “Open.” Click “Managed” if necessary. Click OK? That's it.

n short, even if the Wizard or SNS work flawlessly with your home network, in preparing to take your computer on a road trip, check to see if Frisbee is available as an alternative, and if not, install it.